Dreams & Memories
by Tisha
Summary: Realistic dream confuse Usagi, who ends up with amnesia. Everyone at home is worried about her but can Usagi get her memories back to go home?
1. Chapter 1

Dreams & Memories

By: Tisha

Pain. Searing pain coming from all sides of her. It hurt so much she couldn't think. She couldn't breathe. She desperately tried to suck in any air that she could but instead heat and fear filled her lungs. She tried to scream but it came out in a raspy cough instead. She looked up to see a pair of familiar purple eyes looking at her. Still struggling for breath she reached a hand out to the girl. The purple of the eyes almost burned through her as they examined her for a while before the girl turned. Seeing her friend betray her, she grasped at her throat as she felt herself suffocating. She choked as she vainly tried to force her lungs to work.

With a piercing scream Usagi was jerked from her nightmare. She sat up in bed and breathed deeply for a minute. She looked up to find Luna looking at her. "Usagi, are you all right?"

She savored the feel of breath as she continued her heavy breathing. "Oh my God Luna, it was so real."

"It was just a dream. Calm down Usagi-chan."

Usagi shook her head. "I know it was a dream but it was almost like I knew it was the truth even though it *was* a dream."

"What do you mean, what was true?"

Usagi bit her lip at the thought of what she had just said. She couldn't believe a dream. Not a dream like that. She shook her head. "Rei-chan. She saw me...dying...and she turned away."

Luna got up and climbed onto Usagi's stomach. "Usagi, you know it was only a dream. That would never happen. I'm ashamed of you for believing it. Now go back to sleep."

Usagi only sat there and bit her lip again. "Luna...I'm afraid to go to sleep."

Luna sighed. "Usagi, dreams are only dreams. If you're going to believe that so easily you wouldn't want to know some of the dreams I've had."

Usagi swallowed. She knew Luna was right. Mamoru believing his dream was what put both of them through a lot of pain for a long time. She knew it would be bad to believe her dream. But she couldn't help think about how desperate she had felt. As if she were really dying. And then Rei was her only hope, and then she had been alone to die...Usagi shook her head and lay back down. Wanting to sleep just to get the thoughts from her mind.

Luna watched her worriedly for a second and then lowered her head onto her paws, letting herself fall back into a deep sleep.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi had slept through the remainder of that night without any more dreams. It had just been some strange thing her subconscious mind had thought up. All day at school she tried to put it behind her. She knew they had a meeting today and she didn't want to appear weak, not again.

The bell rang and Usagi picked up her books and waited at the front of the school until Makoto and Ami had joined her. They walked toward the temple quickly, with less casual talk than normal. Makoto noticed how Usagi was acting and decided to question her. "Usagi, are you okay?"

Usagi looked at her, raising her eyebrows in question. "Of course, I'm fine."

Makoto shrugged and realized that they were already at the temple. Rei and Minako were already waiting and they all sat down, discussing various things. They hadn't had any enemy attacks for a while so there wasn't anything important they had to cover.

Luna was quieter than normal as she watched Usagi. She noticed how the girl averted her eyes often, especially when Rei looked at her. She didn't believe a simple dream could have this kind of affect and started to worry that it could be something more. For some reason she didn't want to tell the others though, it seemed almost like she would be betraying Usagi.

She sighed as she thought about her charge. At first it had seemed the biggest job in the world but now Luna loved Usagi like a daughter and a sister combined and she couldn't stand the thought of the girl being hurt. She just had to hope for the right words to cheer her up.

•••••••••••••••••••

"Usagi, you've been kind of distant today. Are you okay?"

Usagi took a deep breath as she took down her hair and gently brushed out the knots. She hated having Luna question her all the time so she decided to act like she was fine. And she was, she thought. She *should* be fine. It was only one dream, and she *did* know that. But when she saw Rei she had gotten flashbacks to the dream. She shook the thoughts from her head and came to one resolve. It *was* only a dream and there was nothing to it.

"I'm fine Luna. I think I'm just tired since I didn't get much sleep."

Luna sighed in relief. She had never even considered that, but it did make perfect sense so she took is as a good enough excuse and dropped the subject.

•••••••••••••••••••

It was a dark room. She stumbled helplessly, clawing toward anything to hold on to, looking for a way to light a path. She couldn't even see her hands. She stepped on something sharp and realized she was barefoot. Her heart beating faster, harder, she got on her hands and knees to feel her way in the dark.

A familiar voice rang out and echoed through wherever she was. "Minako?" She called loudly, her voice quivering with fear. Minako suddenly appeared ten feet in front of her. It seemed like Minako was glowing, like she had the light to conquer the darkness.

"This way Usagi, come here."

Usagi got to her feet and stumbled toward her friend. She felt her foot slip and her heart stopped beating as she felt herself fall. She landed with a loud thud and felt pain sliver up through her whole body. Her left leg burned like fire and she clutched it. She looked up to see Minako. She couldn't make her out well in the dark. "Minako-chan, help me! My leg hurts!"

She heard laughter echo all around her and saw that the silhouette of Minako was gone. Usagi started to cry, feeling hopeless. "Minako?" She received no answer and screamed the name again, a very loud, painful scream, that still received no answer.

Usagi woke up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Not another one. Why is this happening to me? She glanced at Luna, who was still asleep at the end of the bed. At least I didn't wake Luna. I don't want her to get all fussy over me. She laid back down and tried to think about a reason she'd get such dreams but couldn't come up with one.

She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. She tossed and turned for an hour before falling back to sleep. But it wasn't a peaceful sleep. She had two more dreams. Each time Ami and Makoto abandoned her as well, maybe even put her in danger in the first place. Usagi managed to not wake Luna, but her head felt jumbled, confused. She couldn't understand what would make her think such things so she just tried to forget it all together.

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Dreams & Memories

Part 2

By: Tisha

The next day at school Usagi simply pretended the dreams didn't exist. They had never happened; she tried the hardest she could to forget them. It worked pretty well, too. She talked normally to her friends as lunch, as well as to Luna after school. She acted normal, and she didn't dare to let anyone see that she was scared inside. Every minute she was scared of going to sleep that night.

She feared the dreams would return, maybe even be worse. She couldn't figure out where they came from. Her biggest guesses were either an enemy or...some sort of prophesy. She tried her hardest to not think of the second possibility. She couldn't believe that.

The night came way too fast and Usagi prepared herself for sleep. She wished she could just never sleep again but she felt really tired. Probably from the lack of sleep the night before. As she laid in the dark she bit her lip as she hoped and prayed that she could sleep peacefully.

Sleep finally darkened out her senses. She slept for a full hour peacefully before the first dream came. This one was more real and more horrible than the others had been. She was Sailor Moon this time, standing in front of a huge monster. She called into her communicator for help and Ami's voice came out.

"We don't feel like helping you, beat it yourself."

Sailor Moon stared at the communicator not believing what she heard. "Come on, I really don't think I can beat this myself." She was so busy yelling into her communicator and being confused over the way they were acting that she didn't notice the monster shoot at her. A ball of energy took her by surprise and slammed her into a tree. She cried out in pain.

"PLEASE!"

"Serves you right for not paying attention." It was Makoto's voice.

Sailor Moon struggled to stand on her wobbly legs while she tried to keep her tears away. A rose came very near her feet and she looked up, breathing a sigh of relief as she saw Tuxedo Kamen.

"Don't get all giddy, Sailor Moon. I'm just here to tell you that it's time you took care of yourself. I'm not going to babysit you anymore." With that he swung his cape and was gone. Sailor Moon was overcome with grief at his words and she fell to her knees sobbing, the youma saw this as its opportunity and shot an even bigger energy ball toward her...

Usagi woke up abruptly and sat up, breathing very heavily and she suddenly realized her nightshirt was drenched with sweat. She glanced at Luna, who was asleep, and got up as carefully as possible. She quickly changed her shirt and splashed her face with water before climbing back under the covers.

Luna opened her eye a crack and saw that Usagi was again in bed, but not asleep. She had been awakened by Usagi's restlessness and had seen Usagi wake up. She was starting to get very concerned about these dreams, and the fact that Usagi was hiding them.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi chewed on the eraser of her pencil as she tried to think really hard about her dreams. They had started off with her friends not helping her when she needed the help but now it had been three nights. Last night's had been the worst. In her most recent dream she had been hanging from a cliff, holding on with her hands alone. Rei and Makoto had come up and stepped on her fingers causing her to lose her grip.

She just couldn't understand why they came every night when they started out of nowhere. She tried to think through every detail of the first dream when she remembered that she had been suffocating for a reason. It had been really hot...and the air was filled with smoke. Rei had been the one standing there...or had it been Sailor Mars?

When she really thought about the first dreams they were just as violent as her new ones. In all of them her friends were trying to kill her. And in the three she had had the night before, Mamoru had always abandoned her too. Usagi looked over at Ami and all she could picture were her dreams. She bit the eraser harder, mad at the dreams and the fact that they made her doubt her friendships.

At lunch she sat with Ami and Makoto, she couldn't avoid that. She would constantly catch little things they said that her mind somehow distorted to mean something worse. Something about hating her. She tried to convince herself it wasn't real, to fight whatever was happening to her, but she soon started hearing whatever her mind wanted her to. She finally couldn't take it and she stood up and ran toward the school building. She hid in a classroom the rest of lunch.

When she went back to class Ami and Makoto kept glancing at her. Usagi tried to stare forward, trying to convince herself that they hadn't said those things. Her mind was playing tricks on her, she could feel it. It was like part of her brain wanted her to believe her friends hated her and the other half was trying to make it stop. But she had a feeling the first side was winning.

After school was out Makoto immediately grabbed her arm and forced her to look her in the face. "Usagi, are you okay?"

Usagi looked at her. At first she saw worry and concern in her eyes but then she could have sworn she saw hatred. She pulled her arm free. "I'm fine."

Ami looked at Makoto with concern before addressing Usagi. "Well, why'd you run away?"

Usagi looked between them, suddenly feeling like she was surrounded. "I didn't feel like talking to you. And I don't know either." She squeezed between them and walked away quickly. She suddenly realized what she had just said to her *friends*. She felt like she was going crazy. There were two parts of her, each fighting with the other. She heard a beep on the communicator and closed her eyes as she brought it up.

"Yes?"

"Usagi, please go to the Hikawa Shrine, we're having a meeting." It was Luna, and she sounded *very* determined.

"I'll be there."

She started walking in that direction, trying to clear her mind. She couldn't let this thing get her, she *had* to fight it. She arrived and saw that everyone else was already there. She went inside and sat down. "Why the sudden meeting?"

They all looked at each other and she got the feeling that she was being conspired against. They were all looking at *her*. Usagi's heart started beating faster as she desperately tried to stop being afraid. Her mind felt fuzzy as she looked at her friends.

"Usagi, you are such a ditz."

Usagi shook her head as she stood up; she looked to Luna for help.

"Don't look at me, I agree with them."

"You're always in the way."

"We could do better without you!"

Usagi started crying. "Please! That's not true! Why do you hate me?"

The others looked at each other. Makoto came forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Usagi, what's wrong with you?"

"We *don't* hate you! We love you!"

They became more concerned when she looked at them with fear in her eyes, like she thought they would actually hurt her.

"Get away from us, bitch!"

"And never come back!"

Usagi bit her lip as she stumbled toward the door. She couldn't believe they would be saying this to her. A tiny part of her head screamed that it wasn't real but that part didn't have any power to control her anymore. She reached the door and just started running. She needed to get away from them.

"Usagi! Where is she going?"

"Something is wrong here."

"Do we go after her?"

Luna watched after Usagi. "No... I think we need to let her have time to think."

She just ran and cried. Tears dripping down her face, she just ran faster than she thought she could. She crashed into someone, someone who held onto her arm. She snapped around to look right at Mamoru.

"Usako, what's wrong?"

Usagi just shook her head and looked at him.

"Go ahead. Do what you always do, run and cry. You never take responsibility seriously. It's time you grew up."

Usagi screamed as she wiggled away and started to back away from him.

"Usako? What is it? Are you listening to me?"

"Stay away! PLEASE! If you ever loved me just let me be alone!" She turned and ran. He wasn't running after her and she sighed in relief. She just ran and ran. It felt like she had been running for ages, and the things she saw go by in a blur didn't even look familiar anymore. She ran until she felt her foot jab a rough spot on the cement. She was running so fast that it threw her to the ground with great momentum. She tried to stop the fall with her hands but her eyes were clouded with tears and she couldn't see. Her head slammed into the cement with a sickening crack as Usagi's senses slowly went black.

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Dreams & Memories

Part 3

By: Tisha

Hiroshi was just climbing from his car when he saw a girl, maybe a couple years younger than he, running down the street. He continued to watch in wonder and confusion and then gasped as he saw her fall. She had fallen pretty hard so he quickly made his way across the street. The sidewalk was pretty empty with few people around, and the girl was still lying where she had fallen.

He bent down and saw that she was unconscious. He checked her wrist and was glad that she at least had a pulse. He gently rolled her to her back and tried to shake her. She still didn't wake up, so he picked her up carefully and brought her to his car, laying her in the passenger seat.

He looked over at her before starting the car and thought to himself that she was very pretty, but then he shook himself out of it and turned on the car. He was right between two hospitals. One was in Tokyo and the one in his own nearby city. He figured Tokyo would be too crowded so he took her to the one near his home.

She got in quickly and a few doctors did some tests and things before finally coming out to the waiting room where Hiroshi was. "Are you related to her?"

"No, I've never seen her before. I just saw her fall."

"Do you know her name?"

"No. Why all the questions? How is she?"

"She's got a bit of a concussion, so it's not safe for her to sleep for long periods of time. We were able to get her to wake up but she doesn't seem to remember her name."

"What, you mean she's got amnesia?"

"It's possible with a fall like that. But she could also have a little case of shock. We're going to wait until morning to ask her more questions and we can figure it out then. We need you to come back also to answer some questions."

He nodded. "Sure. Can I see her?"

"I thought you didn't know her."

"I don't. But I did bring her in and I just want to see how she is."

"I don't think that's a good idea right now. You can see her tomorrow when we get this straightened out."

•••••••••••••••••••

"What's your name?"

The blonde's brow furrowed in mixed confusion and aggravation. "I already told you...I *don't* know."

"Where do you live? Think hard."

She thought about the question as hard as she could. She tried to think about *anything* she had ever done before, and nothing came to her. It was completely frustrating. She whimpered a little in annoyance. "I can't remember."

The doctor wrote something on his sheet of paper. "What *do* you remember?"

"Nothing. It's just blank."

The doctor sighed and wrote one last thing. "I'll be back to see you later. Press that button if you remember anything." He indicated a button on her nightstand with a nod of his head and left.

Hiroshi was in the waiting room, waiting for his turn at the questioning. "So you don't know who she is?"

He shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"Well, my diagnosis would be retrograde amnesia."

"What does that mean, will she remember?"

"Amnesia is complicated, there are always more people that have something we've never seen before. But most likely her case is one of the most common types. It comes from a head injury, obviously when she fell. They usually forget everything or only certain things. Most of the time the memory will come back, maybe gradually or maybe abruptly, but sometimes they never remember the incident that first put them into the condition."

"But what do we do? We don't even know who she is or where she belongs. There must be someone looking for her."

"But that's also the problem. You said you saw her running, right?"

"Yes. She was running and crying. Really fast."

"She could have been running *from* someone. We don't want to expose her to that person."

"Well shouldn't her family know where she is?"

"Hospital stuff is kept very confidential. Even if the person is a minor they could have their records kept secret from their own parents. If you were to find, say a news company that was interested in doing a broadcast to find her family, they would need her written consent. Even if there was a call that came in to the hospital asking about a young girl, we can't give out names unless she had told us we may."

"So can I see her?"

"Sure, do what you can."

Hiroshi told the girl everything he knew. That she had been running. About her disease. About finding her family.

She bit her lip. "I was running?" She didn't know why, but that fact made her bones chill.

"Yeah. Are you going to give permission to try and find where you belong?"

Just thinking about that scared her. "No. I must have been running for a reason. I have a really bad feeling about it."

"Well then what are you going to do? How old are you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. The nurse said I was probably about 15."

He nodded, deep in thought. "That would make you the last year of Junior High...I'm in High School but I live by myself in an apartment. My school is right next to the Junior High. If you want you could...well you could just move in with me and go to school there. I mean...just until you get your memories back and can go to your family."

She looked at him. It sounded risky since she didn't know him, but then again she didn't know anyone right now. Somehow his blue eyes seemed familiar and kind and she thought she could trust him. "I...I guess that's a good idea. But if I'm going to go to school, what's my name?"

"You see, this is fun. You can be whoever you want to be."

She shrugged. "I don't know. You pick a name."

He looked at her and thought about it for a minute. "How about Akina? Akina...Nakao."

"Akina Nakao..." She tested the name on her tongue. "I like it."

"Okay, Akina...er...can I call you Akina?"

"Well you made it up so I don't see why not." She smiled at him. "Who are you, by the way?"

"Hiroshi."

"When can I leave this place?"

"Tomorrow. You're coming home tomorrow."

•••••••••••••••••••

"I can't believe this, *why* did we let her go?"

"I thought she just wanted to think...I never thought she would run away."

"No. She didn't run away, Usagi *wouldn't* do that!"

"Rei's right."

"And she's alive...I would feel if she wasn't."

"Well then what's left? Did she get kidnapped?"

There was a knock on the open temple door and everyone looked up, startled. It was Mamoru. "Is Usagi here?"

The four girls and two cats exchanged looks. "We haven't seen her since last night."

"But...Luna, you live with her."

Luna nodded sadly. "She didn't come home. Her parents are going crazy with worry, they already called the police."

"What was wrong with her, what happened?"

"What do you mean 'what was wrong with her?'"

"I saw her last night, she was running. She told me to let her be alone and...and I did."

"Why has she been acting so strange? She hasn't looked me in the eyes for the past few days." Rei was hurt by that fact and she knew there was something more to this that they didn't know.

"And it was weird last night the way she sad 'Why do you hate me?' and we were only asking her what was wrong."

Luna decided it was time she spoke up. "I think I might know why." All eyes turned to her and she continued. "She had been having dreams. About four days ago she woke up screaming and told me that she had a dream about Rei. She was dying and...and you turned away." She looked up at Rei, who looked ready to cry. "I told her it was nothing, and I thought it was. From then on she hid the dreams from me, but I know she had more. She would wake up sweating in the middle of the night.

"She acted afraid to go to sleep each night. I think the dreams might have been what made her act so strange..."

The other six in the room were quiet as they thought about it. It really did make perfect sense. But most of them still didn't believe that Usagi would purposely run away because of it.

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

Dreams & Memories

Part 4

By: Tisha

Hiroshi sighed and closed the door, throwing his book bag on the floor and quickly kicking off his shoes. His day had not gone so well. The thought of seeing Akina cheered him up though. "Akina? You home?"

"In here!"

Her voice came from the kitchen so he went in there, coughing at the smell of burnt cookies. She plopped the tray on the counter and made a face. "I wonder if I was this bad at cooking before."

Hiroshi stared at her and she looked at him. "What? Do I have flour on my face?" She started wiping random areas of her face.

Hiroshi shook his head. "You cut your hair." He took in the golden strands that now fell right past her shoulders.

She looked up at him and blinked. "Oh. Yeah."

"Why? It looked so pretty all long and silky!"

Akina giggled. "Well it wasn't practical. It always got in the way. I wonder why I never cut it before..." She trailed off and got a look of longing on her face, one Hiroshi had seen plenty of times. She sighed and sat across from him. "It's been two weeks and I still don't even know my own name. I wonder where I even came from...how far I ran." She'd gone to school with mixed emotions, wondering if people there would know her, but to them she ended up being just a new transfer student, meaning she'd ran quite a ways from home.

She suddenly bit her lip and looked at Hiroshi. "Can...can I ask you a favor?"

"Of course."

"Can you teach me English?"

"Don't you learn English in school?"

"Well...I don't really understand it..."

Hiroshi looked at her for a minute. "Why do you need to know English?"

"Well...I kind of want to go to America...sometime."

Hiroshi really didn't want Akina leaving any time soon; he really enjoyed her company, only as a friend though. He already had a girlfriend, one who had become good friends with Akina. He did want to see her happy though. He really admired her for being so cheerful when she didn't even know who she was, but he could see her pain slip through at times. "Sure. How about every night after dinner? I'll teach you little by little."

Her face lit up with a smile. "Arigato, Hiroshi!" She stood up, dumped the tray of cookies in the garbage, and went toward her room. Hiroshi only smiled.

•••••••••••••••••••

Mamoru looked out from his balcony over Tokyo. The sun was setting on the city and he could hear the bustle as some people headed home from work and others came out to enjoy the evening. Usagi had been gone for seventeen days. He counted each painful one. Him and Rei were in agreement on one thing- she was alive. They both knew they would feel it if she wasn't. He couldn't understand it though. It definitely wasn't like her to leave purposely, even if there *were* dreams influencing her. And where would she have possibly gone? She didn't have anything with her at the time, how could she live...alone...in Tokyo, without any money?

That's the part Mamoru hated the most, he knew you couldn't...he didn't even want to think of what that meant. He went into downtown Tokyo every day. Looked in windows of restaurants and watched people go by, but he never saw the one person he was looking for. He whispered one word as a tear slipped from his cheek onto the ground below.

"Usako..."

•••••••••••••••••••

Akina knocked softly on Hiroshi's door and waited as she heard rustling. She bit her lip impatiently until he opened the door in his pajamas and looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong?"

"I...I think I remembered."

He put his hand on her back, leading her into the family room as they both sat down. "What do you mean? What do you remember?"

She stared blankly at the wall. "It...well it was a dream...but I *know* it's a memory, I've...known it before. It's like it triggered something in my brain."

"So do you know who you are?"

"No...and I'm not sure if I want to." He looked at her questioningly and she took a deep breath. "There were people...they felt so familiar...people I loved...my friends...or family...and...and...they were trying to hurt me..." Her face was a mixture of pain and confusion and Hiroshi took her hand.

"Are you sure it's not just a nightmare?"

"Yes, it wasn't even like a dream. I could see myself being concerned *about* it and I know I knew those people. Besides, how could I dream about someone that I don't even *know* now? Ever since the accident I only have dreams about...school or you or something current. I must really have been running for a reason. These people obviously wanted to kill me."

Hiroshi didn't know what to say so he only sat and waited.

"I'm sorry, I'll let you go back to sleep."

Hiroshi stood up, pulling her up as well. "You need to sleep too. Maybe you'll feel better in the morning...or remember something better."

She smiled. "I hope there *is* something better."

•••••••••••••••••••

The next morning was Saturday and Hiroshi was surprised to find Akina already awake. She was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping on coffee. He poured himself a cup and sat next to her. "I've never seen you up so early on a Saturday."

She nodded. "I've been up since five. I had more dreams...or memories..."

"Get any better?"

She looked at him and he first saw the haunted look in her eyes. "Worse, if that's possible. I mean there were even like monsters after me." She looked at him and laughed. "I know that seems weird, but somehow I *know* it's true. I could *feel* the feelings that I had back then. I'm scared, Hiroshi. I had a lot of time to think this morning and I made up my mind."

"About what?"

She shook her head. "I can't stay here. I'm going to America."

"Akina, how do you expect to support yourself in America?"

"Well, you've been teaching me English for nearly a month and I feel I know it well enough. I've got all my money from waitressing saved up and I can get another job as a waitress there."

"Akina..."

"I know you want to protect me or whatever because you feel like my big brother. And I really love you for it, you are my best friend. I can't stay here though. The memories haunt me... I'm afraid there is someone out there who wants to find me, and not for good reasons."

Hiroshi sighed. He already knew her too well; she wasn't going to back down. He knew she would actually go through with this and he couldn't stop her. "Only if you let me give you some money."

Akina started to shake her head but Hiroshi broke in before she got a chance to speak. "I have plenty and I will *not* let you wander around in America without enough."

She slowly nodded her head. "I'm leaving in a week. For New York City."

He sighed and hugged her. "I can't believe you are actually doing this. You *have* to call me often."

She smiled. "I will."

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

Dreams & Memories

Part 5

By: Tisha

"Final boarding call for flight 887 to New York." The announcement was repeated in English and Akina stood up, facing Hiroshi.

"Do you have everything?"

"Yeah. Not that I even *have* much."

"All your money?"

"Yup, it's safe."

He stood silently. "Don't forget me. Even if you do remember your past."

"I never could."

He smiled and they hugged quickly, both noticing that everyone was already on board.

Akina walked quickly toward the entrance and handed her ticket to the man. "I'll call you as soon as I'm settled!"

Hiroshi waved one last time and watched as the plane took off. He didn't understand why he felt like he was losing something so important. He silently laughed and shook his head. "That girl really grows on you."

•••••••••••••••••••

"This is too weird."

"I know. This is a place I hoped I'd *never* have to come to again."

The other two nodded in agreement as they walked down the tiny path. They stopped in front of a certain headstone with a certain name inscribed.

"I *know* she's alive."

The other three remained silent. Rei had even told Usagi's parents that she did a fire reading and could feel Usagi's life. Ikuko had gently told her that she didn't believe in psychic power but that she hoped she was right.

They hadn't had a funeral since the investigation was still ongoing, even though they hadn't turned up a thing. Everyone hoped Usagi was still alive and they put off the funeral for as long as they could. Or the way Usagi's father put it- 'when they have something to bury.'

"Where is she?"

Rei shook her head. "I did another reading this morning. It's like she faded. It's harder to feel her anymore, but she *is* alive."

•••••••••••••••••••

"It's gorgeous." Akina ran her hand along the marble counter and turned to the man. She was trying to act normal as possible, but this man was *very* handsome. "It's a bit more than I was planning to spend..."

"Don't worry. I can always talk my father into accepting late rents when someone is a little behind. I think you'd like it here."

"Well the big city definitely reminds me of Tokyo...I'm just not sure if that's what I want."

He put his head to the side. "You're mysterious. And you speak very good English."

She smiled. "Thanks. A very good friend taught me." She looked around again at the walls that were so white they almost shined. She glanced out the window at the wonderful view. "I'll take it."

"Great. If you ever need anything you can call me." He handed her a business card. "When are you planning to move in?"

Akina shrugged. "Now?"

He looked at her. "Well, what about your stuff?"

She bit her lip. "I don't really have any."

"Well don't you think you should have gotten a furnished apartment?"

She shrugged. "I like this place. All I really need is a couple little things. I have a bit of money. I'll need to get a job though. Hey, do you know anywhere that needs a waitress?"

He raised his eyebrows. "You're asking the right person. My best friend owns a really fancy restaurant. He can always use more help, and you'll get great tips. I'll have him call you...as soon as you get a phone." He laughed a little and Akina joined in.

"Thanks." She dug into her purse and gave him several bills. "Here's my first two months rent. Now I guess I'll go buy myself some stuff."

He nodded. "Okay, well here are your keys. Have fun in the city."

She smiled at him as she locked the door to her new apartment behind her. The only things inside were her two suitcases.

•••••••••••••••••••

Akina looked around at her apartment and smiled. She'd been living here for two days and already had it furnished comfortably enough for one person. She had a bed and a dresser in her room, a small table in the dining room and a couch and end table in the family room. The kitchen already had everything she needed and she had gone grocery shopping so she could have some food, although with the way she cooked she was safer eating out.

There was a knock on the door and she went to it, happy to have a visitor, even though she wondered who it could be. She opened the door to find Chris, her landlord's son, the same one who had sold her the apartment. "Hi, Come in."

He took the invitation and looked around. "I just wanted to make sure you got settled in and everything." He took in the furniture and looked back to her. "No TV?"

She smiled. "Nah, I only got the basics so far."

He nodded. "Well, looks like everything's good then." He smiled but didn't leave. Instead he looked at Akina. "Umm... I was kind of wondering...would you like to maybe go to dinner sometime or something?"

Akina smiled. She really liked Chris and was glad that he apparently liked her back. She didn't want to be in a strange country without any friends. "Sure. Just give me a call whenever."

He smiled. "Okay, I will then." He waved a hand and backed through the door. Akina closed it behind him and leaned against it, sighing.

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

Dreams & Memories

Part 6

By: Tisha

Akina came into her apartment, dropping her keys on the table and kicking off her shoes. She headed for the bathroom to take a long, hot bath. Chris had been right, she made great money working as a waitress in his friend's restaurant, but it was sure tiring. She smiled as she walked through her apartment, her home.

It was the only place she knew. She had seen American doctors who all said the same thing. She'd most likely get her memories back if she was in Tokyo, where there was something to spark them. She didn't want to go back there though. She hated the not knowing part the most; she didn't even know when it was her birthday. Exactly a year after her fall she had got a call from Hiroshi saying happy 16th birthday. It'd been another year since then so in that sense she was now 17...maybe.

When she first got to America she'd been put into the 12th grade because they said she was advanced, so she had already graduated, very proud of her American diploma. She had decided not to go to college, working more hours on her job instead. And it made her enough money to keep her apartment, which was now fully furnished.

She lowered herself into the large tub and exhaled at how good the hot water felt. Her relationship with Chris had turned out to be interesting. They ended up being quite different. She'd have a lot of fun when she was out with him. On their second date he'd kissed her, and for some reason it hadn't felt right. She had been the one to suggest that they be only friends.

He hadn't liked the idea, but gave in for her. They still went out often. He'd had several girlfriends that came and went, but then they stopped. Akina knew how much he cared about her, and she really liked him as a friend. She was even frustrated at herself that she didn't like him more. She sighed thinking about him and hurried to shampoo her hair. Even though she'd stopped the physical relationship they went out all the time and got along well.

She had a 'date' with him tonight. She wanted to look nice so she got out and put her hair in curlers, putting on her makeup as she usually did. She put on a black tee shirt and light pink skirt that stopped a few inches above her knees. She took her hair down and smiled at the way the curls made her hair bounce where it fell right at her shoulders.

The doorbell rang and she hurried to grab her purse and pulled the door open. Chris looked very handsome in a dark suit and Akina looped her arm in his as they headed for the restaurant.

•••••••••••••••••••

"That was a great movie."

He laughed as he followed her into the apartment. "Yeah, it was pretty funny."

"You want some coffee?"

"Sure."

Akina started making them each coffee when she suddenly felt uncomfortable and turned around. Chris was looking at her, no, staring at her. She bit her lip. "Chris..."

"What is it Akina?"

"What is what?"

"*It.* I don't know. It's like you're not here. You don't have any photo albums or pictures of friends. You always look so lonely. You don't know how much I want to do away with that."

She sighed and set his coffee in front of him, taking the seat on the opposite side of the table. "It's a long story."

"I'm not in a hurry."

She laughed a little as she stirred cream into her coffee. "This'll sound unbelievable...but...I have amnesia." She carefully took in his face and could tell he believed her. "Two years ago I hit my head, hard, and now I don't know who I am. Akina Nakao is a name that Hiroshi, a man who brought me to the hospital, made up. I don't even know if I *am* 17, or when my birthday is."

"Wow..." Chris looked deep in thought. "You don't remember anything, after all of this time? Have you seen any doctors?"

"I started to remember, when I was back in Japan. They were frightening memories. Of people trying to kill me. You see, when I fell and hit my head I had been running. I think that's what I was running *from*. That's why I left Tokyo. I've seen doctors here but they all suggest that I go back."

"Akina...I never imagined it was something like that. I'm sorry."

She smiled. "Well I had to get on with my life one way or another and I like my life here."

"But...I don't understand why you don't want me."

"Chris...it's not that I don't want you. There was just something in my mind that felt funny, but I really like you..." She started thinking about the fact that she *did* like him, and she wondered why it had seemed so weird before.

Somehow they both felt closer together. They were able to talk for hours about anything and everything.

"Wow it's already one. I should go."

Akina stood up, following him to the door. He turned to look at her. Akina bit her lip and returned the gaze. She could feel that he wanted to kiss her, and she actually wanted him to. He put a gentle hand on her cheek and when she didn't resist he leaned in to kiss her. She returned the kiss, which was soft and gentle.

She absently thought that the kiss was familiar. On that very thought images exploded in her head. She pulled away and gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.

Chris looked startled. "Akina?"

She looked up at him. "Oh my God."

"What's wrong? I'm sorry..."

"No, it's not that. I...I think I just...had memories."

Chris looked at her and swallowed the lump in his throat. "When I kissed you you remembered?"

She stared straight passed him as she tried to focus on the images in her mind. "There...there's someone that I was...in love with. I could *see* him, and...and *feel* him." She looked up at him with watery eyes. "But I still don't know who I am. That is so *aggravating*. I thought I'd just remember everything and that'd be it."

Chris wiped at her tears. "No wonder we weren't meant to be. This whole time your heart was longing for someone else."

She cocked her head to the side. "I'm sorry."

"That's okay. I want you to be happy."

She nodded as he opened the door. He said goodbye but she was too deep in thought to reply. She *knew* those were memories. It felt like more and more were popping up but there was nothing solid. She could feel love and see a picture but there was nothing to lead her anywhere. The memories felt so warm though, contrasting the cold ones she'd gotten two years ago.

Akina lowered herself into a couch, trying to think hard at her past life, which was more like thinking up a story than remembering what had actually happened to her. The only thing that came to her mind was him. She could see herself with him. She knew they were happy together; this was actually a good memory. Focusing on the picture in her head she desperately tried to think about that person, forcing her brain to work hard.

And suddenly a name popped out. A simple name didn't give her more memories, but it made the ones of *him* seem so much more real.

"Mamoru."

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

Dreams & Memories

Part 7

By: Tisha

Chris let Akina have the next day to herself, and he risked going back the day after that. It was a Wednesday so he knew she wasn't working until the dinner shift. He knocked quickly and waited longer than usual. Akina came to the door. Her hair was tied up and she was wearing old clothes. He peeked past her and noticed boxes around the apartment.

"Akina?"

"Chris. Come in."

He looked around. "You're leaving?"

She sighed and nodded. "I have to go back to Tokyo. I have to know. I'm leaving Friday."

He looked into her eyes and could tell she really needed to do this. He nodded slowly. "What about your stuff?"

She looked around at everything and wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "I'm selling it to a used furniture store. There are only a couple things I'm taking."

"Well how will you live there?"

"I'm hoping to find someone who could tell me who I am."

Chris sighed. "A him someone."

Akina smiled and nodded. "He's the only person I remember. And even if I'm not so lucky I've already called Hiroshi. He's still got an extra room and he'd be happy to have me."

Chris hugged her quickly but warmly. "Well good luck. Call me sometime."

"I will." She looked around at all the boxes. "I really need to get back to packing. The people are coming to pick up the furniture tomorrow...I'll come and see you on Friday to say goodbye."

"All right. Don't forget though." They both smiled and Chris let himself out so Akina could get back to work.

•••••••••••••••••••

Akina looked out the airplane window as they descended toward Japan. She was filled with a mixture of hope and fear. How could she possibly find one person by a first name in all of Tokyo? And what if she accidentally ran into whoever or whatever had been trying to kill her in her early memories.

The pilot clicked on and announced that it would be ten minutes until they landed. Akina was planning to get a hotel room in Tokyo for a week so that she could look for Mamoru. If she still had no luck then she'd go to stay with Hiroshi. She had gotten lost in her thoughts and now realized that they had landed. She gathered her purse and carry on as she followed the line of people from the plane. The flight attendant welcomed her in Japanese and she realized it was nice to use the language again.

She had the airport send her boxes to the hotel she had reservations at as she immediately went out into Tokyo. She wanted to know who she was and she wasn't going to wait. It was a long walk to get into downtown but she made it. She looked around at how many people and buildings there were and sighed. She could never find someone in all of this by having a picture in her head and a name she wasn't even sure was right.

•••••••••••••••••••

Minako was leaving the arcade as she stopped suddenly, her eyes glued to a blonde woman on the other side of the street. The woman was dressed very classy in a black suit. Her hair was short and half of it was pulled back into a barrette.

"Snap out of it Minako, now you're even seeing things." She subconsciously talked to herself as she tried to convince herself this woman could not be who she looked a lot like. Besides, the hair was way too short. Usagi would never cut her hair. Still, Minako couldn't take her eyes from the woman, who was looking around almost hopelessly.

The woman suddenly ran across the street and she walked almost right passed Minako. Minako got a glimpse of her eyes and thought that it had to be Usagi. She couldn't help herself from grabbing the woman's arm. "Usagi-chan?"

The woman looked at her with her mouth open, staring at her face.

•••••••••••••••••••

Akina looked at the woman that had grabbed her. She seemed eerily familiar but Akina pulled her arm away. "Usagi? My name is Akina."

The blonde looked disappointed but Akina couldn't stop looking at her.

"I'm sorry...miss. I just thought you looked like my friend who disappeared two years ago. I'm so sorry."

Akina bit her lip. "Two years ago?"

The other girl nodded but didn't say anything. "You just look so much like her...and I hoped..."

She trailed off and Akina had a creepy feeling that she knew this girl. She tried to remember. A memory flashed into her head and she realized it was the dream she'd had two years ago. The memory of someone trying to kill her. She gasped and backed away from the girl. "I don't know what you're talking about." She quickly turned and walked into the closest building.

Looking around she saw that it was an arcade, and it appeared to be a popular hangout for younger people. She thought she might as well give it a try.

She saw a young blonde man behind the counter and went up to him. "Do you happen to know anyone named Mamoru?"

The man looked at her startled. "Usagi?"

Akina swallowed the lump in her throat. Could it be possible that two people call her the same name by mistake? Probably not. The bad memories overpowered the good ones for a minute and she thought maybe she didn't want to find out who she was. She slowly started to back away but the man pointed behind her.

"There's Mamoru."

Akina swallowed hard and turned to find a man staring at her. It *was* the man in her memory. She could tell he recognized her too.

"Usako?"

"Usako? Is...that my name?"

Mamoru exchanged a look with Motoki and looked at her. "You *have* to be Usagi...right? You can't be anyone else."

"Usagi? You're the third person to call me that." She started chewing on the inside of her lip as tears started to collect in her eyes. "You...you're the only thing I've remembered so...so I must be...her...or me...or whatever. But...but I still don't remember."

She looked up at Mamoru and was shocked to find him with a wide smile across his face. She looked at him, confused, as he continued to smile.

To be continued


	8. Chapter 8

Dreams & Memories

Part 8

By: Tisha

Akina was starting to feel like it was hopeless. Three people called her Usagi, so she must *be* Usagi. But she had thought that her memory would snap back into place once she knew, and it hadn't. She was so frustrated that she wasn't really paying attention to Mamoru anymore. She suddenly noticed him coming closer to her and looked up in shock. She could see from the expression on his face that he wanted to kiss her.

She swallowed hard. She knew that she used to love this man and somehow she wouldn't let herself stop him. If was a quick kiss, but it was still so powerful as the familiarity of it washed over her. The kiss brought on the memories. Tons of them, all of them, exploding into her head as she melted into Mamoru's embrace.

He slowly, almost reluctantly let her go and she smiled up at him. "Mamo-chan." She loved the taste of that word as it escaped her lips. "Mamo-chan! And I'm Usagi!" She giggled like a little girl as she hugged Mamoru again. She suddenly pulled back and looked at him. "How...how did you know?"

He smiled at her. "I didn't know anything. We've all missed you so much for the past two years. I knew you were alive, but we had no explanation. When I heard you talking about remembering I realized that you had amnesia. I just hoped the kiss could make you remember me."

She hugged his arm, loving the feel of it, as well as knowing who she was. She knew that she had a family and tons of great friends. She suddenly wondered where the memories of people trying to kill her came from. And then she remembered the dreams. The reason she had been running in the first place. She shook her head. "And to think I ran from Tokyo. The answer was here the whole time."

Mamoru looked at her. "What do you mean? Where *have* you been all this time?"

"Long story. I'll come by tomorrow and tell you everything. For now I have other people I need to talk to. Poor Minako must think she's going crazy." She laughed now that she remembered her encounter a few minutes ago. She gave Mamoru a quick kiss and headed toward the Hikawa Shrine.

•••••••••••••••••••

"Rei-chan, I think all the time has finally gotten to me."

"What do you mean?" Rei switched the phone receiver to her other ear and adjusted her position on her bed.

"Well I just saw a blonde woman who I could have sworn was Usagi. I even grabbed her arm and called her 'Usagi'."

Rei laughed a little. "Well, what'd she look like?"

"Like...well...Usagi! I mean the same hair color, and her eyes were identical. She even sounded like Usagi! But her hair was only shoulder length and she dressed more stylish."

As Rei listened to the description she looked out the window and was shocked to see that exact person coming toward the temple. "And are you sure it wasn't her?"

"She said her name was Akina or something like that."

Rei bit her lip. "Well then this Usagi look alike must want to *be* like Usagi because she's heading for the temple right now."

She heard Minako gasp. "Really?"

"Yeah, I got to go."

"Rei, I'm gonna come over."

"Okay, bye." She hung up and went outside just as the blonde was nearing the door. When she saw Rei she stopped. Rei studied her and agreed with Minako.

It just *had* be to Usagi. "Usagi?" She came closer and bit her lip. "Is that you?"

Usagi could barely stop the tears when she saw her friend. She slowly nodded her head and threw her arms around Rei. Rei pulled back to take in the new looks of her friend.

"Oh my gosh, you cut off your odangos!"

Usagi laughed. "I know, I can't believe it either."

"Usagi! Where the *hell* have you been for the last two years?"

"Oh gosh, I have a feeling I'll be telling this story a *lot* tonight so why don't you call the others and I can tell you all together."

Rei nodded. "I guess you're right." She headed for the temple with Usagi following her. "You need to go and show your family that you're alive."

"You mean they think I'm dead?"

Rei nodded sadly as she picked up the phone. "Me and Mamoru knew you were alive and I tried to tell them that. They had a funeral anyway, and there's a headstone for you at the cemetery." She turned her attention to the phone as Ami answered. "Ami? You have to come over."

Usagi listened as Rei convinced her to come without giving a reason and then repeated the process to call Makoto. Once she hung up they looked at each other, each with many questions.

"Rei, where's Luna?"

"She's been living with Ami. Your parents said it was okay and that way it'd be easier if something happened."

"*Did* anything happen? Have you guys had any enemies?"

Rei was just about to answer when Minako burst through the door and was immediately engulfing Usagi in a hug. She finally released her friend and looked at her sternly. "Don't you *EVER* do that again! Why on earth did you tell me you were Akina?"

Usagi laughed a little. "I thought I *was* Akina." Both girls looked at each other and then at her but she waved it off, wanting to wait for everyone.

Makoto arrived next and was shocked to see the girl with her friends. She would probably not have believed it was Usagi if she hadn't been there, but when she finally convinced herself that it was Usagi she hugged her, as everyone else did.

While Makoto was still asking questions Ami showed up, holding Luna in her arms. Ami froze, staring with her mouth opened. Luna jumped down from her arms and ran toward the girl she hadn't seen for two years. "Usagi-chan!"

Usagi happily picked up the cat and started petting her, as well as hugging Ami before everyone finally sat down. "Okay I know you all want an explanation. It's getting kind of late and I still need to let my parents know that I'm alive." She stopped and looked at the way the four people and two cats were looking at her. They were acting like she was a ghost or something.

She waved off the weirdness of their stares and continued. "I didn't leave on purpose. I'd never do that. The truth is that for the last two years I have been someone else entirely since I didn't know who I really was. When I was running that night I tripped and hit my head. I got amnesia if you can believe that."

She stopped to let it all sink in but they just all sat staring at her silently for a full minute.

"Amnesia?"

Usagi nodded.

Rei smirked. "Okay, I got that part. Now I just want to hear about this other person you've been for two years."

Usagi smiled. "Well, I've been Akina Nakao. Hiroshi, he's the guy that saw me fall and took me to the hospital, made up the name. He was the only person

I knew, and since he told me that I had been running so fast I didn't want to give my name to the press. You know, I thought I must have been running from someone so I didn't want them to find me. They estimated I was 15 and Hiroshi offered to let me stay with him until I remembered who I was. We became good friends-" Usagi paused at the smug looks of her friends and she glared at them.

"But nothing more than that. He had a girlfriend. Anyway, about two months later I started remembering vague things...basically I was remembering the dreams that I had. I took them as real memories and then I *really* thought someone was trying to kill me. I got scared and decided to get out of Japan. Hiroshi had been teaching me English so I went to America. I've lived in New York ever since."

"And?"

Usagi looked at Minako. "And what?"

"Come on. You've been living in New York all that time. You can't tell me you lived there all alone without a job and stayed indoors all day, right?"

Usagi shook her head at her. "Okay, I was a waitress, I lived in an apartment, and I had a weird on and off sort of relationship with my landlord, are you happy now?"

"No! Tell us about this landlord!" Now it was Makoto.

Usagi was starting to get frustrated by all the talk of guys. She did want to find out some stuff about their lives too. "His name is Chris. He had a thing for me from the start but the first time he kissed me I decided we should be friends. I didn't realize it then but I guess I always knew deep down that I loved Mamo-chan. About two weeks ago I let him kiss me again and somehow memories of Mamoru flooded into my head. I came back to find him to finally find out who I was. First I ran into Minako, then Motoki, then Mamoru. By the third time being called 'Usagi' I finally realized that was who I was.

"And Mamo-chan brought back my memories with a kiss. Now before any of you start with more questions, *I* need to ask you some questions."

A few of them pouted about not being able to ask anything else. "Go ahead Usagi." Artemis had been a little annoyed by the girl talk as well.

"Where'd the dreams come from and *what* on earth happened to you once they got me so confused that I ran away and got amnesia?"

"It was an enemy. It wasn't easy beating them either, we all got injured."

Usagi had figured that was what happened. She couldn't think of anything else to ask and she remembered about her family. She stood up. "I have to go see my family now." She looked down at Luna. "Luna, you should stay with Ami again tonight and I'll take you back tomorrow."

Everyone had to give Usagi one more hug before she headed off toward her own house. It was really weird thinking of it as her house after she had lived alone and supported herself for the last two years. For some reason she felt nervous about going there. It would be weird to knock on the door when they all figured her to be dead. But she also couldn't wait to see her parents. She took one deep breath before knocking on the familiar door.

To be continued


	9. Chapter 9

Dreams & Memories

Part 9

By: Tisha

Usagi knocked on her door and waited. It took a while before anyone answered it. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was almost nine. She finally heard the lock snap open and her dad stuck his face out the door. Upon seeing her his eyes widened and he pushed his glasses higher on his nose.

"U...Usagi?"

Usagi bit her lip and nodded. "Papa?"

He slowly pulled the door open, still staring at her in shock. "Ikuko! Come here!"

Usagi came inside and hugged him.

"We...we thought you were dead."

Ikuko walked in with a dishtowel she was using to dry her hands. "What is-" She was cut off when she saw her daughter looking at her with watery eyes.

Ikuko wasn't able to hold her own tears as she dropped the towel and ran forward to hug Usagi.

"Usagi. What happened? Where have you been?"

Usagi was about to answer when Shingo ran down the stairs. "What's going on down here?" He saw his sister and a strange expression crossed his face.

Usagi laughed. "Hi Shingo." He still didn't move so Usagi went toward him and gave him a quick hug. She turned back to her parents. "You want to sit down?"

Ikuko wrapped an arm around Usagi's shoulders and led her into the family room, Kenji and Shingo followed.

Usagi sighed as she looked at her family, wiping the happy tears from her eyes. "Please don't think I ran away, 'cause I didn't. Two years ago I hit my head really hard and got amnesia. So basically I haven't remembered any of you for two years."

"But how? I mean we called all the hospitals."

Usagi shook her head. "They didn't release my name. I...I didn't let them."

"But why not?"

"Well the only thing I *did* know was that a man had seen me running when I tripped and hit my head. I didn't know what I had been running from so I was afraid that there might be someone after me."

Usagi's mom squeezed her hand, tears still flowing from her eyes. "What had you been running from?"

Usagi bit her lip and shrugged. "I just got in a fight with my friends and started running. I wanted to be alone."

Kenji shook his head at the whole story. "So how have you been supporting yourself all this time?"

"Nice people pretty much. At first I stayed with the guy who took me into the hospital." She glanced at her dad, who didn't seem to care very much about what she had just said, which kind of shocked her. "He taught me English and then I decided to move to America. He even sent money with me. The landlord of the apartment building I moved into in New York was very nice and he helped to get me a good job as a waitress. So I made enough for my apartment and I actually have a lot left over too." She stopped and shrugged.

"How did you remember everything?"

Usagi wondered how to explain it and just decided to tell them the complete truth. "Well...Mom, you know Mamoru, right?"

Her mom nodded. "Yeah, your boyfriend, right?"

Usagi glanced at her dad who smiled. "It's okay Usagi, I met him at your funeral. He's a good guy."

Usagi smiled a huge smile at this and nodded. "Well I started getting memories of him when I was in America. I decided to come back to find some answers and I just happened to run into him. He managed to make me remember with one kiss." Usagi smiled at the memory and looked at her parents. "I guess that's it."

"Wow, you really got amnesia?"

Usagi laughed. It was the only thing Shingo had said so far. She nodded in return and stood up. "Is my room still there?"

Her mom nodded. "We didn't change a thing."

Usagi smiled at the thought. "Well I'm still on New York time and right now it'd be about seven in the morning so I think I need to go to bed."

The other three stood up, all hugging her again before she went upstairs. She looked around at her old room. Everything was still exactly the way it had been. She didn't even have her luggage with her since it was at the hotel she was supposed to stay at. She had grown quite a bit in the last two years but she was forced to wear one of her old nightgowns anyway. She sighed as she plopped onto her old bed, loving the feel of being in that bedroom.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi spent Saturday morning with her family, the afternoon with her friends, and the evening with Mamoru. On Sunday morning all she wanted to do was sleep but she got herself up earlier because she was planning a trip to the other side of Tokyo. She yawned as she climbed out and she saw Luna looking at her strangely.

"What?"

"Usagi-chan, getting out of bed before eight *purposely*? You really have changed."

Usagi smiled. "Trust me, I'd love to sleep longer. But there is someone I have to see." She got up and quickly changed into a spring dress. She reached into her wallet and took out a couple hundreds. Now Luna was really looking interested.

"What's all the money for?"

"Someone that I have to pay back. And pay a visit to. And give a thank you gift, which I'll have to buy first."

"The one who found you?"

"Uh-huh. If any of the girls come looking for me just tell them where I am. See you later Luna!" She waved over her shoulder as she stuffed the money into a purse.

•••••••••••••••••••

Usagi smiled when she saw the apartment door. She knocked, hoping someone was there. She hadn't called because she wanted it to be a surprise. The door opened up and Shika, Hiroshi's girlfriend, looked out. She smiled when she saw her. "Akina!"

Usagi hugged her. "Is Hiroshi here?"

"Yeah." She pulled the door opened, inviting her in. "I didn't know you were back in Japan."

"I got in Friday."

Hiroshi came out from the family room and saw her. "Akina!"

Usagi smiled as she hugged him. "Actually, it's Usagi."

"You mean you remember?"

Usagi smiled widely and nodded. "Thanks to you. I bought you this." She shrugged handing him the wrapped gift. "Just to thank you for letting me stay here and everything."

He set the gift down and offered her a seat. "So what happened?"

"Well I told you on the phone I had remembered someone named Mamoru, who I knew I loved. So I went looking for him, and I found him within an hour. He kissed me and my memories all came back."

Shika sighed. "Sounds like a fairytale."

"And I have you to thank for it Hiroshi."

He smiled. "What about the memories that scared you away? The people trying to kill you?"

She laughed a little. "Well, you were kind of right about those. They *were* memories, but they were memories *of* dreams. These dreams I'd been getting about my friends wanting to kill me. They are what got me all confused that night when I was running."

Hiroshi nodded. "Well, I'm glad you remembered. And whoever you are, Akina or Usagi, you're always welcome to come here."

•••••••••••••••••••

"Mamo-chan, where are you taking me?"

"Just keep your eyes closed. We're almost there."

She walked blindly for a few more minutes, being led by Mamoru's hands on her waist. He suddenly pulled her to a stop and turned her.

"Okay, open them now."

Usagi took her hands from her eyes and gasped. She was staring at her own tombstone. She slowly read the words that were inscribed.

Tsukino Usagi

Beloved daughter,

friend, and girlfriend

She looked up at Mamoru. "Girlfriend? How'd you ever..."

"I convinced your dad to put that on there. Even though I knew you weren't dead I wanted it to look perfect."

Usagi smiled and hugged him. "Wow, this is kind of creepy. I feel like a ghost."

Mamoru leaned down to kiss her, a long lingering kiss. He finally released her and seemed to be thinking. "Well, you sure kiss well for a ghost."

Usagi giggled as they walked from the cemetery hand in hand. "I love you Mamo-chan."

"I love you, Usako."

THE END!


End file.
